LATE 19TH CENTURY

Chairs of this type often formed part of an ensemble of furniture for miners' houses in the North East of England, including County Durham. In times of full employment, miners were amongst the most highly paid manual workers in Britain and their domestic furnishings reflected this, preferring large pieces of furniture made in mahogany or stained birch. So firmly established was this tradition that the North East is the only region in Britain where cabinet makers made drawers as separate boxes and then fixed drawer fronts to them of mahogany or the less valuable birch, depending on the customer's choice.